Tara Seal Research has specialised in studies of social organisation, ecology, mother-pup behaviour, pup development and juvenile play for many years. The information forms the basis of much of the recent work on seal well-being in rehabilitation and captivity.
Wilson, S.C. (2024) The Role of Play in the Social Development of Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) Pups with Comparative Notes on the Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina).
Animals 2024, 14, 2086. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142086
Wilson, S.C. and Jones, K.A. (2021). Body mass and behaviour of stranded harbour seal (Phoca
vitulina vitulina) pups during the peak pupping season in Co. Down, northeast Ireland. Biology
and Environment. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2021. DOI:10.3318/BIOE.2021.03.
Wilson, S.C. and Jones, K.A. (2020) Behaviour of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) pups in Dundrum Bay, north-east Ireland, during transition from filial dependency to weaning. Biology and Environment. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2020. DOI:10.3318/BIOE.2020.17
Wilson, S.C., and Jones, K.A. (2018). Behaviour of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) mother-pup pairs in Irish Sea intertidal habitats. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2018. DOI: 10.3318/BIOE.2018.02
Wilson, S.C., Dolgova, E., Trukhanova, I., Dmitrieva, L., Crawford, I., Baimukanov, M. and Goodman, S.J. (2017). Breeding behavior and pup development of the Caspian seal,
Pusa caspica. Journal of Mammalogy, 98(1):143–153, 2017. DOI:10.1093/jmammal/gyw176
Wilson, S.C., Pierce, G.J., Higgins, C.M. and Armstrong, M.J. (2002). Diet of the harbour seals Phoca vitulina of Dundrum Bay, north-east Ireland. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. (2002), 82, 1009-1018
Wilson, S.C. (2001). Population growth, reproductive rate and neo-natal morbidity in a re-establishing harbour seal colony. Mammalia, 65(3), 319-334.
Wilson, S., Miller, L., Hursey, M., Frantz, M. and Gorte, J. (1985). The social development of a captive grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pup for the first six months. Aquatic Mammals 11(3), 89-100.
Wilson, S.C. and Kleiman, D.G. (1974). Eliciting play: a comparative study (Octodon, Octodontomys, Pediolagus, Phoca, Choeropsis, Ailuropoda). American Zoologist 14(1): 341–370. This paper described juvenile play patterns in three species of S. American caviomorph rodents, the pigmy hippo, the giant panda and the harbour (common) seal. The focus of the paper was in he type of movement that characterises play (loose body tone, rotation head movement, exaggerated motor movement) and how body odour may elicit these movements, and how the play then leads to more body nosing and touching, thus reinforcing social bonds.
Wilson, S.C. (1978). Social organization and behavior of harbor seals, Phoca vitulina concolor, in Maine' Report to the Marine Mammal Commission PB-280 188. Contract no. MM6AC013, April 1978. xi + 103pp.
Wilson, S.C. (1975). Attempted mating between a male grey seal and female harbor seals. Journal of Mammalogy 56(2), 531-534.
Wilson, S.C. (1974). Mother-young interactions in the common seal Phoca vitulina vitulina. Behaviour 48: 23–35.
Wilson, S.C. (1974). Juvenile play of the common seal Phoca vitulina vitulina with comparative notes on the grey seal Halichoerus grypus. Behaviour 48: 37–60.